![]() ![]() Sheep’s tails are docked to reduce the incidence of fly strike, an infestation of fly larvae in the skin due to accumulation of fecal material. California, Rhode Island, and Ohio have statutes or regulations outlawing routine tail docking. For this reason, both the American Veterinary Medical Association and the National Milk Producers Federation oppose routine tail docking. ![]() Tail docking was once routinely performed on dairy cattle to promote hygiene during milking however, research has shown no benefit from docking the tails of dairy cows. Cattle raised for beef in indoor feedlots with slatted floors may have their tails docked because producers believe it will reduce the tail tip injuries (and subsequent infections) caused by being stepped on by other cattle. The motives for tail docking vary with species and production type. In piglets, blunt trauma, scissors, sharp instruments, or hot cautery are most often used to remove most of the tail. Other methods include cauterizing with hot irons or surgical amputation. Eventually, the necrotic tail tip falls off or is cut off. In cattle and sheep, most producers use a rubber band to cut off circulation to the bottom two-thirds or more of the tail, causing the tissue to gradually die over three to seven weeks from lack of blood supply. It is being phased out in the US dairy industry. Historically, tail docking has been performed on pigs, sheep, dairy cattle, and cattle reared on feedlots with slatted floors. Rather than employing routine dehorning or disbudding, some producers raise hornless (polled) animals. Disbudding is preferred over dehorning because it carries a lower risk of complications and is significantly less invasive and painful however, recent research shows that even disbudding causes pain for weeks to months after the procedure.Ĭattle and goats are disbudded or dehorned to reduce the incidence of carcass bruising caused by horn injuries during transport, as well as to reduce the risk of on-farm injuries to other animals and people. Once horn-producing tissue has attached to the skull, various physical means are used to dehorn, which may involve cutting bone and entering the frontal sinus of the skull. In very young animals, when horns have not yet formed, disbudding is performed by removing horn-producing tissue via burning (hot iron) or chemical means (caustic paste). Pain relief is rarely provided.Ĭattle and goats, if not naturally hornless, typically undergo procedures to stop horn growth at a young age. In order to facilitate confinement of these animals in such stressful, crowded, unsanitary conditions, painful mutilations such as cutting off the horns of cattle, cutting off the beaks of chickens, and docking the tails of sheep, pigs, and indoor feedlot cattle are routinely performed. To boost production, some cows are injected with the growth hormone rBGH or rBST, which increases a cow’s likelihood of developing lameness and mastitis, a painful infection of the udder. In factory dairies, cows spend their entire lives confined to concrete.Stressed by crowding and boredom, they frequently resort to biting and inflicting wounds upon their penmates. Growing pigs are confined to slatted, bare, concrete floors.Unable to even turn around, sows develop abnormal behaviors, and suffer leg problems, bladder infections, and skin lesions. Pregnant sows spend each of their pregnancies confined to a gestation crate-a metal enclosure that is scarcely wider and longer than the sow herself.Being held in such close confines, the hens peck at each other’s feathers and bodies. ![]() Four or more egg-laying hens are packed into a battery cage, a wire enclosure so small that none can spread her wings.Raised by the thousands at a single location, animals are confined in such tight quarters that they can barely move, let alone behave normally. The rearing of farmed animals today is dominated by industrialized facilities known as concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs (often referred to as “factory farms”) that maximize profits by treating animals not as sentient creatures, but as production units. Ending the Slaughter of Nonambulatory Pigs.State Wildlife Agency Contact Information.How to Communicate Effectively with Legislators.United States Legislative Information (external link).Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act.Farmed Animal Anti-Confinement Legislation.Cetacean Anti-Captivity Legislation and Laws.Anti-whistleblower (“Ag-Gag”) Legislation.Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act.The Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act.Emergency and Disaster Preparedness for Farm Animals Act.Shaping Policy for Animals in Laboratories. ![]()
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